Saddle up: Oregon’s horse tripping ban and other new laws kick off 2014

Put down that lasso, Oregonians. With a new year comes new laws. One of those is a ban on horse tripping.

The need to ban horse tripping will likely strike those outside Oregon as odd, but here it was widely controversial. After much debate, the Legislature passed a law that bans intentional horse tripping — tripping the horse by its front legs when it is moving fast and done for entertainment — not when it’s done for medical purposes or normal horse management, and the horse is first roped around the neck.

The bill in its original form sparked an outcry from rural Oregonians who saw it as an attack from outsiders in the Portland metropolitan area. Even after it was amended to target intentional horse tripping, it sill got a few nay votes.

The law, like many others, takes effect this month.

From increased regulation to upped fines and fees, some new laws that took effect Wednesday will likely make fiscally conscious and pro-limited government types cringe.